CVS Caremark Corp will begin testing a high-end beauty store concept this year as it looks to tap into the growing demand for skin care and cosmetics, Reuters reported.
The drug store chain is planning a store concept called "Beauty 360,” which will be rolled out near an existing CVS store on the East Coast, followed by a West Coast launch shortly thereafter, CVS spokeswoman Eileen Howard Dunn said.
She declined to say where the stores would be located. But Women’s Wear Daily, which first reported the news, said the first Beauty 360 store would be opened in Washington, D.C., while the second would open in Sacramento, Calif.
The "prestige beauty" stores would carry 32 lines of skin care and cosmetics plus a number of fragrances, Dunn said. She declined to name the brands.
CVS’s expansion efforts in recent years have been in the healthcare realm, notably with the acquisition last year of Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager.
Dunn said the company has also focused on building up beauty product offerings in its stores, with research showing demand on the higher end. "Beauty has always been a core part of our front-of-store offering, so this is the next evolution," she said.
CVS will have more than 6,800 stores if it completes its planned purchase of Longs Drug Stores Corp.
Dunn also stressed that the company does not plan to build a Beauty 360 shop next to every CVS store. Aside from the first two stores, the company plans to test a few more, Dunn said.
